Zendaya’s Mission To Change 3 Boys’ Lives In South Africa

Zendaya’s trip to South Africa changed the star’s life and now she’s hoping to help the lives of three young boys who lost their parents to HIV and AIDS.

“I went out to South Africa with UNAIDS and it was really an exciting trip, especially being a young African-American woman. I think there is a disconnect, a lot of young African-American people don’t realize they are from Africa. It was important for me to go and kind of learn where and learn about the AIDS epidemic there,” Zendaya said on Tuesday’s Access Hollywood Live.

“AIDS is something that is everywhere, but hits hardest there and what I learned is it hits hardest with young people. I was there to kind of be that young people’s voice and raise awareness of what was going on. We had to meet families that had been directly affected by it to kind of give us the real experience. One of those families I met was a group of three young boys who are brothers and the oldest is a couple of years older than me and he takes care of his two younger brothers. Both of his parents passed away from HIV and AIDS,” the 19-year-old “K.C. Undercover” star continued.

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Being immersed in the three boys lives’ changed how Zendaya looks at her own life.

“When I saw the conditions they were living in and the things they had to worry about, I couldn’t go back home and pretend I didn’t see it. You can’t wipe it from your memory. It’s something that sticks with you and for me and my family, it bothered us. I can’t go to a hotel, while thinking about this kid who is probably cold and hungry. It’s not something I can do,” she explained.

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Once she returned home, the star was inspired to help.

“As soon as I came home, my mom and I reached out back with UNAIDS and wanted to at least do our part to better their living conditions. Of course, I wish I could help everyone and there is a lot poverty in the world, but this specific family is a good start,” she said.

In lieu of celebrating her own birthday earlier this month, Zendaya began a crowd-funding page on CrowdRise.com and encouraged her fans to help the South African family.

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“The ultimate goal for them is to at least be able to live comfortably and not worry so much about food and where they are living. They are babies. They’re little babies. We met these kids and I met the youngest and he wouldn’t smile,” she continued. “We kept trying to make him smile and he started crying out of nowhere and later he finally told us, ‘I’m hungry.’ What am I supposed to say to that? For me it would be selfish, to have a birthday and get things for myself – I have everything I need. I don’t need anything else.”

Adding, “I just hope people can kind of connect with that and reach my birthday wish.”

— Jesse Spero